The present invention relates to a connector.
There is a connector formed by fitting a pair of housings to each other. When one of the housings for forming the connector is inserted up to a fitting position where the one housing can be fitted to the other housing, terminals received in the respective housings are electrically connected to each other, and the housings are locked to each other. Since such fitting work for this type of connector is performed manually, there is however a fear of terminating the fitting work without noticing a half-fitted (non-locked) state in which the one housing has not been inserted up to the regular fitting position yet, so that the housing may be unlocked later.
To solve this problem, a connector provided with a fitting position assurance lock has been proposed in order to prevent such half-fitting of a housing (see PTL 1).
The connector according to PTL 1 is provided with a cylindrical female housing in which female terminals are received, a cylindrical male housing in which male terminals are received and which is fitted to the female housing, a cylindrical fitting assurance member which is mounted slidably on an outer side of the female housing, a female lock which is supported like a cantilever on the female housing and which extends toward the male housing, a fitting assurance lock which is supported like a cantilever on the fitting assurance member and which extends toward the male housing, and a locking protrusion which protrudes from an outer face of the male housing so as to lock the female lock and the fitting assurance lock to each other.
When the male housing is inserted into the female housing on which the fitting assurance member is mounted in such a configuration, first, a locking portion of the female lock climbs over the locking protrusion so as to be locked to the locking protrusion. Successively, a locking claw of the fitting assurance lock climbs over the locking protrusion and the locking portion of the female lock so as to be locked to the locking protrusion through the locking portion of the female lock. Thus, the fitting assurance lock is locked to the locking protrusion through the female lock so that fitting between the housings is assured.
In addition, an unlocking operation portion for unlocking the female lock is provided in the female housing according to PTL 1. The unlocking operation portion is disposed on an opposite side to the male connector in a fitting direction (a rear side in the fitting direction) to be separated outward from the female housing. When the fitting assurance member is pulled toward a direction (an opposite direction to the fitting direction) to be separated from the male housing in a state in which the fitting assurance lock has been locked to the locking protrusion through the female lock (a state in which the fitting assurance member has been set at a final locking position), the locking claw of the fitting assurance lock climbs over the locking portion of the female lock so as to ride onto the locking protrusion (the fitting assurance member moves from the final locking position to a temporary locking position). Successively, when the unlocking operation portion is pushed down toward the female housing and the fitting assurance member is pulled in the opposite direction to the fitting direction, the locking portion of the female lock rides onto the locking protrusion, and the locking claw of the fitting assurance lock and the locking portion of the female lock sequentially climb over the locking protrusion. As a result, the female housing is removed from the male housing.
As for details of the above protector, refer to PTL 1, JP-A-2012-64461.